


Just in case

by ferggirl



Category: 12 Monkeys (TV)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-09
Updated: 2015-03-09
Packaged: 2018-03-17 01:39:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3510380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferggirl/pseuds/ferggirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It’s been four days. Four days since the ex boyfriend found her missing. Four days of whatever drug-fueled nightmare the Army of the 12 Monkeys needed her for. </p>
<p>He showed up on day three, full of their next mission.</p>
<p>Well, fuck the mission. There is no mission without Cassie.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just in case

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: from wingsofnight on tumbr, Cassie/Cole, nose

She’s not moving. 

"Cassie," Cole’s frantic, not sure how much time he’s got left, or just what cocktail of drugs they pumped her full of this time. "Cassie, fuck. Wake up, we have to go."

She moans a little, jerking on the table as if in a dream. The heavy boots of the security guards sound closer. If he doesn’t get her out of here before they come to check…

He tears at the restraints, freeing her arms and legs. She’s still mostly limp, dead weight as he pulls her over his shoulder and turns to the ducts he used to infiltrate the facility. 

Just in case, he dumps the syringes and tools on the tray sitting next to her head into a trash bag, and stuffs them into her backpack.

Then he slides her into the vent and pulls the grate on behind himself. 

They get about halfway before she really re-surfaces and starts helping. Her eyes are still clouded and confused, but she follows him trustingly. 

His heart clenches painfully when she curls her hand into his. He doesn’t deserve her trust. 

It’s been four days. Four days since the ex boyfriend found her missing. Four days of whatever drug-fueled nightmare the Army of the 12 Monkeys needed her for. 

He showed up on day three, full of their next mission.

Well, fuck the mission. There is no mission without Cassie. 

The car is where he left it, and he’s helping her drowsy hands fit the buckle when she seizes. Her arms and legs go stiff, her elbow catching him square in the nose with a nausea-inducing crunch. 

He fumbles through the pain, and manages to get her out onto the pavement in time for her to vomit up blood and something else, dark and sticky. 

When it passes, she slumps again, still conscious but weak and winded. He swipes at his own bloody face, and puts her back in the car. 

She buckles herself in, and when he slides into the driver’s seat, she’s awake enough to be concerned. 

"You can’t drive."

"There she is," he mutters. "And I’m getting better."

"Cole," her voice is rough and raw, and at a red light he turns to dig in the backseat, finding a water bottle with a triumphant, if painful, smirk. "Thank you."

She chugs the water, and sleeps for the rest of the drive. And the next 11 hours. 

******

Cassie finds him in the bathroom, washing his face. She feels wretched, like she’s been on a three-day bender. 

In a way, she has been.

"Hi." She taps him on the shoulder, trying not to startle him. He startles anyway and turns to her in surprise. 

Cole’s face is one giant bruise. And his nose… well it would almost be dashing if it wasn’t swollen and bloody. 

"You look terrible."

"Thanks," he smirks. "Figured we should match."

She glances in the mirror at the ghostly-pale face with dark circles under her eyes. “For us to match, I think you’d have to break my nose.”

"Cassie." He’s not smiling anymore. "I should have come back sooner. I’m sorry."

She shrugs, testing the knots and aches in her shoulders. “You can’t waste jumps, we both know that.”

He looks away. “I know where they were holding you now, if I come back two, three days ago…”

"No." She lays her hand on his bicep and shakes her head. "It’s not worth it."

He looks down at her hand, and the bruises on her wrist, then reaches up to brush some hair behind her ear. He’s close, close enough for her to see the way the bones in his nose have smashed to the left, to see the mottled colors of the fresh bruises. He leans his forehead to hers and her eyes slip closed. 

"It is to me," he says. "You’re worth it. Four days, Cassie."

"It was just the red forest again, that stupid house." Her other hand comes up and she knows if she opened her eyes, looked to her right in the mirror, they’d be inches apart. The pull between them has become undeniable even as it has become more and more impossible to envision a world in which they both survive. "I’m fine. Wish I knew what they were giving me, but I’m ok."

She can feel the sharp intake of breath before he steps back and they both open their eyes. “Maybe I can help with that.”

"What?"

"I grabbed their stuff - the needles and stuff - when I grabbed you." His grin is as crooked as his nose. "Thought they might be useful."

Her own smile is wide and unhindered. “If I didn’t think it would make you cry, I could kiss you, Cole.”

"Why don’t you try it and we’ll see if I can hold back the tears?" He’s teasing, but his hand on her chin and the flick of his thumb across her lips feels deadly serious. 

"Why don’t I reset your nose and we’ll revisit that idea once it’s healed?" She tries for teasing, but thinks it mostly comes out breathless and eager. 

"Deal." His eyes are soft and sad and she wonders what he’s not telling her. Then he sits on the toilet seat and tilts his face up to her, and the moment is lost. "Make me pretty again, woman!"

She drops a kiss on his forehead, enjoying his startled expression just before she snaps the bone straight again. 

The lights flicker and neither one can hide their looks of dismay. Then he surges to his feet, his hands on either side of her face. 

"Just in case," he whispers. She nods.

The kiss is light and exploratory, and she’s just pushed to her toes to deepen it when he’s gone and she stumbles into the sink. 

The next time she sees him, she thinks to herself as she cleans the blood out of her towels, his nose will have healed.

But his words haunt her.

_Just in case._


End file.
